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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-52-1
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy dictating a memoir entry in November 1963. He talks about the coup in Saigon, South Vietnam, and the assassinations of Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu, about the Soviet Union's stand on autobahn access, about American oil contracts in Latin-American countries, and about a statement by West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer concerning the Berlin Wall. President Kennedy also speaks with his son John F. Kennedy, Jr.The recording ends abruptly.
Textual folder
James C. Thomson Personal Papers
JCTPP-023-015
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-200-005
This folder contains summaries of public opinion towards United States policy and developments in Vietnam, a memorandum regarding articles written by journalist David Halberstam on the Mekong Delta, and memoranda by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on South Vietnam. Of note is correspondence between Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and Madame Nhu (Tran Le Xuan), wife of Ngo Dinh Nhu and sister-in-law to President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-198-008
This folder contains materials regarding the political climate in South Vietnam; the relationship between Ngo Dinh Nhu and President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem; Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) summaries and reviews of developments in South Vietnam; and correspondence between President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, and Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Roger Hilsman.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-198-005
This folder contains telegrams to and from the United States Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam regarding demonstrations by Buddhists and students and the subsequent imposition of martial law, the political climate in South Vietnam surrounding President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem and his chief advisor Ngo Dinh Nhu, and censorship of outgoing press by the South Vietnamese government. Also included in this folder are telegrams summarizing meetings between Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, and President Diem.
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-022
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-020
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-018
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-017
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-016
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-001
This folder contains memoranda and papers prepared by Roger Hilsman, Assistant Secretary of State, regarding United States policy towards South Vietnam and action plans for the removal of Ngo Dinh Nhu, advisor to President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-316-010
This folder contains telegrams, memoranda, and summaries of meetings regarding United States policy towards Vietnam, the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem, and the influence of Ngo Dinh Nhu, advisor to President Diem. Of note is a draft of a letter from President John F. Kennedy to President Diem. Also included in this folder is a memorandum by Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Roger Hilsman discussing U.S. objectives in Vietnam, including victory against the Viet Cong and removal of Nhu and his wife, Madame Nhu, from the country; and a memorandum by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on the current situation in South Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-316-009
This folder contains telegrams, memoranda, and summaries of meetings regarding United States policy towards Vietnam and the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem; the influence of Ngo Dinh Nhu, advisor to President Diem, and his wife, Madame Nhu; and military effort against the Viet Cong. Also included in this folder are excerpts of interview transcripts between President John F. Kennedy, David Brinkley and Chet Huntley of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, and Walter Cronkite of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Evening News.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-316-008
This folder contains telegrams, memoranda, and summaries of meetings regarding the political climate in Vietnam and a potential coup d’etat to remove Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and advisor to President Ngo Dinh Diem, from a position of influence.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-005
This folder contains meeting summaries, telegrams, and memoranda by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) regarding the coup in South Vietnam to oust President Ngo Dinh Diem, and the deaths of President Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu, the President's brother and chief advisor.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-004
This folder contains meeting summaries and drafts of telegrams to United States Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge regarding the impending coup to oust South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-003
This folder contains memoranda, meeting summaries, and reports regarding United States policy towards South Vietnam. Topics include strategies for negotiations with President Ngo Dinh Diem and suspension or cessation of commodities and military aid in the fight against the Viet Cong. Also included in this folder is a draft telegram to U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-317-002
This folder contains memoranda and annexes to the papers prepared by Roger Hilsman, Assistant Secretary of State, regarding United States policy towards Vietnam and action plans for the removal of Ngo Dinh Nhu, advisor to President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam. Also included in this folder are memoranda by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on potential suspension of United States military aid to South Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-128a-004
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning Vietnam. Materials in this folder include a list of military forces available for use in Vietnam, a report from American officials summarizing an investigative visit to Vietnam, a summary of prominent political figures in Vietnam prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, and summaries of strategies for negotiations and military actions. This folder also contains telegrams and memoranda regarding the Buddhist crisis, military operations in the region, the status of pending foreign aid appropriations legislation, negotiations with Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam, Vietnamese attitudes towards the American presence in Vietnam, and the 1963 South Vietnamese coup during which Diem was deposed and later executed.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-128-010
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning Vietnam. Materials in this folder include newspaper articles regarding attacks on the palace of Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam, a press release of President Kennedy's remarks to the Vietnamese people on Tết (Vietnamese New Year), a status report to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara on military operation in Vietnam, correspondence between President Kennedy and President Diem, and memoranda from Special Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Under Secretary of State George W. Ball, and American Ambassador to Vietnam Frederick E. Nolting regarding attacks on President Diem's palace, the presence of communism in Southeast Asia, and the news media's presentation of American military operations in Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-195a-004
This folder contains Department of State cables and memoranda regarding the conflict in Vietnam. Topics include United States military involvement; defoliant operations; guidelines for U.S. media coverage; mobile medical teams; the Strategic Hamlet Program; guerilla warfare and Viet Cong activity; and an attack on the palace of Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-195-015
This file contains Department of State telegrams regarding Vietnam, including a need for a multilateral economic aid program, and United States policy towards Vietnam under the International Control Commission (ICC). Also included are copies and drafts of correspondence between President John F. Kennedy and Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam (officially known as the Republic of Vietnam), regarding South Vietnam's independence, foreign aid, and the spread of communism throughout the region.